“It’s a little neighborhood, like one you would find in New York, like a little Brooklyn,” Randy Kelly, co-owner of XYZ Tavern says of the funky Detroit Shoreway community. Located about two miles west of downtown, Detroit Shoreway includes 40 blocks that stretch east to west and south of Lake Erie to Interstate 90.

Although Detroit Shoreway has developed more slowly than neighboring Tremont and Ohio City, it's more of a microcosm that goes beyond a collection of destination restaurants to include art, theatre, music and shopping.

“I love the idea of this being Cleveland’s off-Broadway,” says Near West Theatre’s Cory Markowitz. "I think it’s very fitting considering the types of theater that are produced here."

Cleveland Public Theater and XYZ Tavern

Founded in the mid-80s, CPT has long been a neighborhood anchor and destination for those interested in alternative offerings featuring new and adventurous work by emerging artists. It also hosts the city's premier Latin American Theatre ensemble, Teatro Publico de Cleveland.

Near West Theatre, a block west, taps young performers to put on full-scale Broadway musicals and as Markowitz explains, “focuses on community development and empowering people through the theatrical arts.”

Blank Canvas, housed in the 78th Street Studios, boasts quality live performances and affordable tickets. Shows include American classics such as Cabaret and offbeat musicals, drama and comedies.

Eclectic Redux: Everything from Pinball to Fine Art

“Detroit Shoreway is really a full arts corridor,” says Austin Boxler, director of community involvement for the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization as he ticks off the area's art destinations including the Capitol Theatre and 78th Street Studios, both of which are renovated buildings that pay homage to their former uses.

Capitol Theatre, built in 1920 and previously abandoned for two decades, is now a three-screen digital theater that serves an assortment of beer, wine and even a signature cocktail. Offerings include a mix of current studio releases, indie films and remastered classics.

78th Street Studios

The 78th Street Studios, former home of American Greetings, is billed as "Ohio’s Eclectic Art Maze" and boasts 170,000 square feet that house 60 art galleries and studios, performance spaces, the offices of the country's second largest rock and roll magazine, Alternative Press, and oWOW Radio, an Internet radio station.

The building and most of the galleries open to the public every third Friday from 5 to 9 p.m., when 78th becomes a dazzling artwalk and shopping bonanza with multi-media art exhibits, music, food trucks and an assortment of pop up vendors.

“Detroit Shoreway is definitely a destination for dinner and a show or art, or to connect with your inner kid,” Boxler adds.

Happy Hours and Dogs, Hangover Pizza and Poutine

No neighborhood worth its salt is complete without food options. No worries there. Within Detroit Shoreway’s five square miles there are more than 20 locally owned restaurants, taverns and quirky eateries serving everything from hot dogs to locally sourced chicken and towering hot fudge ice sundaes.

One of the most established eateries is XYZ Tavern, where Happy Hour means giant $5 sliced of pizza and a daily shot-and-a-beer special. “We are casual dining at its finest,” co-owner Randy Kelly explains. “We are a neighborhood tavern: a place to meet and get a good drink.”

Belly up to the bar at XYZ, says Kelly, and you might find yourself next to a construction worker straight from the job or a well-dressed couple in town to see a play. “We get a lot of walk-ins and people who have come to visit the area, but we're definitely a neighborhood place with a lot of locals.”

The Happy Dog in Gordon Square

Detroit Shoreway has a great diversity of dining choices. “It’s eclectic, we have such a variety of affordable and high end,” Boxler says. “Down one street alone you can get Indian, Vietnamese, breakfast and locally-sourced food," he says, "but everyone who visits eventually goes to the Happy Dog.”

Sip an ice cold Carling's Black Label or one of the 75 beers on tap with that dog and enjoy the live music that ranges from polka to Disney movie sing-alongs. Top it off just two blocks west at (heaven help us) Sweet Moses, a neighborhood soda fountain and treat shop.

Newbies feeling adventurous can try to tackle the Terminal Tower sundae, with its 10 scoops of ice cream, hot fudge, warm caramel, marshmallow cream, pecans, candy sprinkles, whipped cream, cherries and the requisite pretzel on the side (whew!). It all comes in one bowl, with as many spoons as you'd like.

Banter on the corner of West 74th and Detroit specializes in “beverages, sausages and poutine.” A bottle store with a small kitchen, the food offerings include house-made sausages and Quebec-style poutine, a dish composed of french fries, gravy and cheese curds - arguably Canada’s most important culinary contribution to the world.

For early risers, there's a breakfast of baked goods and the city’s best iced-coffee waiting for you at Gypsy Beans & Baking Co. For those who enjoyed the area a bit too much the night before, Latitude 41°n is serving up Hangover Pizza, and over at the Big Egg, you'll never see the bottom of your coffee cup.

“I think the Detroit Shoreway does offer unique menus,” Jon Mavrakis, owner of Local West says, adding that Detroit Shoreway restaurants specialize in foods that you cannot find anywhere else. “We're really proud of that," he says. "We have something for every food fetish.”

Don't leave until you've visited the tiny enclave known as the West Side's Little Italy. The dense grid bordered by West 65th, and 69th Streets, Detroit Avenue, and the lake is festooned with any number of red, white and green embellishments that nod to the Italian flag. The beating heart of this hidden gem is the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish School.

Lastly, stroll or roll through the newly opened West 73rd Street underpass and close the day at one of the area's most treasured assets, Edgewater Beach, where you can amble alongside every Clevelander's favorite neighbor, Lake Erie, and enjoy the sunset.

Kim Palmer is a freelance journalist living in Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. For four years she has covered breaking national interest news in Ohio for Reuters’ America’s Wire. You can follow Kim on Twitter at @kimfouroffive.